What is Self-Harm?

Nonsuicidal self-injury disorder, better known as self-harm, is characterized by the purposeful actions of causing physical harm to oneself without the intention of committing suicide. This behavior is more common in teenagers and adolescents and occurs due to severe underlying emotional pain and a lack of healthy coping skills. Self-harm behaviors are coping ways to release emotions related to anger, sadness, neglect, pain and frustration; after the harmful act is completed, the individual experiences shame or guilt resulting in more negative emotions. Individuals who practice it usually have a history of emotional, sexual or physical abuse, neglect, or trauma resulting in feelings of insecurity, excessive worry and extreme anger. Borderline personality disorder (BPD) and eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia nervosa are strongly associated with it and individuals in the Palm Beach Gardens, FL with these characteristics should be screened for it and vice versa. It can result in co-occurring disorders such as substance abuse, depression and suicide.

What are some forms of this condition?

Cutting

Scratching

Burning

Carving words or symbols into the skin

Preventing wound healing

Extreme skin picking

Extreme hair pulling

Ingesting toxic chemicals

Punching or hitting walls to induce pain

Biting

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What are the Signs and Symptoms of Self-Harm?

Signs and symptoms of self-harm include severe scars, wounds and physical injuries; however many individuals will try to conceal these physical signs and therefore this disorder may often go undiagnosed. It is important to recognize and be aware of the emotional and behavioral symptoms associated with this condition and the associated warning signs. The following are signs, symptoms and warning signs of it:

Isolation and avoiding social situations

Wearing baggy or loose clothes to conceal wounds

Finding razors, scissors, lighters or knives in places where they do not belong

Multiple cuts, burns or scars on the wrists, arms, legs, hips, or stomach

Always making excuses for having cuts, marks or wounds on the body

Spending long periods locked in a bedroom or bathroom

Uncontrollable emotions such as depression, anger, frustration, and insecurity

Eating disorders symptoms such as self-induced purging including vomiting, laxative use, extreme exercise and binging which is defined as eating an extreme amount of food within a two hour period

Declining performance in school

Use of alcohol and drugs

Fresh wounds on the body

Bruises

Hair loss or bald spots

Broken bones

Behavioral and emotional instability which includes making rash decisions and extreme impulsive and unpredictable behaviors that may include acting out in sexual ways or violent ways

Our Palm Beach Gardens, FL - Center For Discovery Outpatient Treatment Center specializes in treating Self-Harm and Co-Occurring Eating Disorders with customized treatment for the individual to get well on the way to his/her eating disorder recovery.

"By far the best treatment I have ever received. [Center For Discovery] changed my life."

How do I know if someone I love is practicing self-harm behavior? Seek Treatment at our Palm Beach Gardens, FL Recovery Center.

If any of the above signs and symptoms occur, it is important to seek help from a therapist trained diagnosis and treating self-harm behavior. In order for an individual to meet our Palm Beach Gardens, FL Recovery Treatment diagnostic criteria, they must have intentions of harming themselves resulting in physical pain to the body without the intent to commit suicide. The individual must be significantly distressed by their feelings and actions and their specific behavior is not accepting by society. These actions must occur for five days out of the year and the individual must induce it for one of the following reasons:

To seek relief from negative feelings or thoughts

To resolve an interpersonal conflict

To bring about positive feelings

Additionally, the individual must experience one of the following before the self-injury act occurs: